Strawberry Milk
by anniegirl132
Summary: There was nothing weird about needing milk at ten o'clock at night in the middle of a blizzard. Nothing at all.


**It's been too long since I've written anything… this was actually an idea I had about a year ago and I just never got around to writing it until now.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters**

* * *

Gray walked into his apartment after a long day at work, unconsciously removing his coat and shoes.

"Hey, can you go pick up some milk?" Natsu called from the other room.

"Why don't you get it yourself?" Gray stepped into the room, glaring at him.

"I'm busy," Natsu was staring intently at the TV screen, a controller gripped tightly in his hands. On the screen the little avatar was quickly dodging falling debris and explosions of the colorful game.

"Well I'm tired. Go get your own milk," Gray moved to sit on the couch next to Natsu but the pinkette stuck out his leg, stopping him.

"Working at an ice cream shop, in the middle of winter, can't be that exhausting," Natsu huffed.

"At least I am working," Gray shoved Natsu's leg out of the way and plopped down on the worn cushion of the couch.

"Hey! It's just my day off!" Natsu paused the game to glare at Gray.

"Then you have plenty of time to get your own damn milk," he returned the look.

"No, it took me all day to get this far! I can't stop now!" Natsu insisted. Gray's scowled.

"And it's cold outside! At least you like the cold," Natsu continued.

"It's practically a snowstorm at this point dumbass," Gray grumbled.

"Still!"

"..…"

"…"

"Fine, whatever," Gray finally relented, standing up from the couch. He wasn't letting Natsu win, he just wanted to have milk for his cereal in the morning.

"Yay!" Natsu cheered, unpausing the game and going back to his frantic button pushing. Gray pulled back on all the clothes he'd removed and made his way out of the apartment. The winds had picked up and the snow and ice blasted him in the face. He held an arm up to his face, squinting through the storm. Just because he didn't get cold easily didn't mean he enjoyed going grocery shopping in the middle of a blizzard. Thankfully, the grocery store was only a fifteen-minute walk so it didn't take very long to get there.

He stepped through the sliding doors of the store and was met with a rush of warm air. He sighed quietly at the comforting warmth before making his way into the coldness of the freezer section. He looked over all the different types of milk with arms crossed.

Almond, soy, 2%, fat free, chocolate, strawberry… He was tempted to get strawberry just to make a crack at Natsu's hair, but it wouldn't taste very good with his cereal. So, he grabbed a gallon jug of regular milk and left the coldness of the freezer aisle to go to the checkout line.

"You must really love milk," the lady at the checkout commented off-handedly.

"Huh?" What was that supposed to mean?

"I mean, coming out in this blizzard _just_ to buy milk," she elaborated, giving him an are-you-crazy look. Gray decided to ignore her. There was nothing weird about needing milk at ten o'clock at night in the middle of a blizzard. Nothing at all.

After paying, he left the store and began his trek back home. He walked down the empty sidewalk, squinting through the flurrying snow. He wondered briefly how it was possible for the blizzard to have actually gotten worse then decided that's just how nature worked. A short walk later, he was at the intersection in front of his apartment complex. He began to cross the street, not really bothering to check for cars. Who would be out in this weather anyway?

* * *

Natsu groaned in frustration dropping his controller to the floor. He was on the second to last level, as he had been for the past hour and a half. It was impossible! And how would he beat the final boss if he couldn't even get past this? He leaned back into the couch, closing his eyes, until his almost-sleep was interrupted by Happy jumping onto his head.

Natsu let out a surprised sound and glared at the cat before shooing him away. Then he glanced over to the window next to the TV. The winds had really picked up, and he found himself wondering where Gray was. It had already been more than half an hour and he almost felt concerned. Natsu stood up from the couch and walked over to the window, staring out. Then he noticed a figure approaching the intersection just in front of their apartment.

"Oh, there he is," Natsu said. He watched Gray step out into the road, and everything went wrong. The truck came fast; it didn't even look like its lights were on. Gray was standing one moment and the next, splayed on the ground several yards away. Natsu stared out, wide eyed. Then he ran. He skipped the elevator, sprinting down seven flights of stairs before bursting out into the night air. Then he continued running, trying to get to his friend's side, but froze at what he saw.

Gray was lying face down on the pavement, the entire middle of his body smashed in, almost flat. Blood coated bones stuck out all over and his leg was snapped in an unnatural angle. Blood pooled under him, mixing with the milk that had burst open to form a sickening cream pink color. Natsu dropped to his knees, feeling as though he might vomit any second, and screamed.

* * *

Natsu woke up suddenly then ran to the bathroom, throwing up. He groaned, grabbing a towel and wiping his face of sweat and spit. He shakily stood up, then made his way to the kitchen.

"You alright? You sounded sick," Gray was sitting at the kitchen table, eating a bowl of cereal.

"Fine, just had a bad dream," Natsu sighed, sitting across from his friend.

"What was it about?" Gray asked. Images of blood and bone flashed past Natsu's eyes and he had to suppress a shudder.

"…uh, I don't really want to talk about it…" Natsu muttered. It would just feel too weird to tell him.

"Ok… Hey Natsu…" Gray said in a musing voice.

"Hm?"

"What would you do if I died?"

"What!?" Natsu sputtered. Why would he ask that? Did he somehow know what Natsu had dreamed?

"It's just a question dumbass," Gray smirked at him, seemingly amused by his reaction.

"Well I don't like that question!" he huffed, looking away.

After that, they sat in silence for what felt like too long. When it felt like it was almost too awkward to bear, Natsu's phone began to ring. He nearly sighed in relief, picking up the small device.

"Hello?"

"Hey Natsu!" It was Lucy.

"How are you feeling?" he could hear the concern in her voice and felt confused. Why was she asking that? Did something happen he didn't know about?

"Fine, I'm just talking with Gray. How about you?" he asked. The line went completely silent.

"Lucy, are you there?" he questioned.

"Yea," her voice sounded somewhat strained.

"Is something wrong?" Natsu's brow furrowed in concern.

"No... I'm fine. Um, can I call you back later?"

"Lucy, wai-" she hung up on him.

"What was that about?" Gray asked.

"I'm not sure. Maybe I should go see if she's alright," Natsu stood up.

"Alright," Gray waved as Natsu slipped on his coat and exited their apartment. Lucy had never acted like that before, she seemed almost _sad._ It made Natsu worried, especially since he didn't have any idea what could be wrong. His first thought was that maybe it was something he said, but Lucy didn't sound angry at all. It didn't take long for him to reach her apartment and soon he was ringing the button for her to buzz him in.

"Hello?" her voice came from the little speaker.

"Hey, it's Natsu, can I come in?"

"…"

"Please, it sounded like something was wrong and-"

"Okay."

And then he was in her apartment and she was giving him this look. A look so full of pity and sadness he couldn't meet her eyes head on.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Now she was crying.

"Lucy!' he took a step forward only to have her launch herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"H-he's gone Natsu."

"Huh?"

"Natsu, Gray is gone… you said he was- this morning- but he's not!" she began to cry harder, burying her face in his shirt, but he barely noticed. What did she- and then the memories came rushing back. The blood everywhere, and bones sticking out, and his mangled body. He thought it was, hoped, needed it to just be a dream. But it wasn't.

Then he was crying. Sobbing loudly into Lucy's shoulder, shaking with the force of his wails. He had no choice but to accept it. Everything was real, not just some dream he could push away and forget. Gray was dead.

* * *

 **This might be a result of me still being a little upset over how Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 (which I just finished watching a few days ago) ended… But I've realized a lot (maybe all) of what I write for Fairy Tail tends to be depressing… Does anyone have an idea for something happier I could write for this fandom? I'm open to requests.**

 **And thanks for reading everyone! :)**


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